Tulare County
Biographies
FRED F. BADOUX
That the United States is a land of opportunity for young men of intelligence and ambition may be seen in even a casual study of the career of Fred F. Badoux, sealer of weights and measures of Tulare county, California. He was born in Porterville, Tulare county, January 26, 1896, and is a son of Fred F. and Minerva (Damron) Badoux, the father a native of Switzerland and the mother born in Ohio. The former came to the United States when only about seven years of age. As a young man he served in an Illinois regiment in the Civil war, after which he was married and about 1890 or 1891 he settled near Porterville, where he followed farming the rest of his life. He and his wife were the parents of three children: Fred F., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Bessie Jones; and Louis E.
Fred F. Badoux, Jr., was educated in the Porterville schools. As a young man he worked at various occupations on ranches and in a packing house. For two years and a half he was in the employ of the Standard Oil Company in Strathmore, and later was assistant agent for the Union Oil Company in Lindsay. In January, 1920, he was appointed county sealer of weights and measures. Upon coming into this office, which in some respects is one of the most important in the county, so far as the general public is concerned, he instituted a number of reforms in order that the work might be carried on more rapidly and with less friction. Since he came into the position the work has increased about three hundred per cent, so that he and his assistants are required to make thousands of inspections annually.
Mr. Badoux married Miss Pauline Millinghausen, a descendant of one of Tulare county’s pioneer families. Mr. Badoux is the owner of a home in Exeter. In Masonry he belongs to the lodge and the chapter. He is also a member of Visalia Pyramid No. 26, Order of Sciots.
History of Tulare County and Kings County, California – Kathleen Edwards Small & J. Larry Smith, Vol. I, Chicago, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1926, Page 184
Transcribed by Jeannie Miyama
RUFUS J. BAGBY
Rufus J. Bagby, one of the oldest contractors and builders in Visalia and a citizen who commands the highest meed of respect throughout this community, was born on the 3d day of September, 1860, near Raleigh, North Carolina, the son of J. W. and Jane (Edwards) Bagby, both of whom also were natives of North Carolina. The family is of Scottish origin, Rufus J. Bagby’s paternal grandfather, Abner Bagby, having come from Scotland to North Carolina in an early day. J. W. Bagby was drafted by the Confederate army during the Civil war, but his sympathies being with the northern cause, he escaped through the lines and enlisted in the Union army, in which he saw much active service. After the close of that struggle, having lost all his property, he went to Iowa, where he became a minister of the Presbyterian church, and later of the Seventh Day Adventist church, and filled a number of leading pulpits through the middle west. His death occurred in 1882.
Rufus J. Bagby received a good education, having passed through the common schools, the high school and a normal college at Clay Center, Kansas. He then served an apprenticeship to the plastering and bricklaying trades and became a contractor in those lines. He has followed this business intermittently all his life and has handled a number of large and important contracts in Kansas and California. He came to the latter state in 1888, locating first in Fresno, where he followed his trade, and in 1890 came to Visalia, where he has since resided. He has been very active in many ways since locating here and no man in the entire community stands higher in the confidence and esteem of the people generally. In 1901 he was elected a member of the city council, but resigned from that body in order to take charge of the construction of Visalia’s first sewer system. It involved the building of nineteen miles of sewers and was a two-year job. He served as foreman on the construction of the city hall, the Catholic church and the Goldstein building, and was city superintendent of the construction of the Mill Creek conduit, which required a year to build. In July, 1913, Mr. Bagby was appointed postmaster of Visalia, holding that position until June, 1922, a period of mine years, and giving to both his official superiors and the public, faithful, painstaking and conscientious service. This was a trying period, as during the period of the World war much extra labor fell to the postmaster. Since retiring from the postmastership Mr. Bagby has not taken a very active part in business affairs, his health having become somewhat impaired.
Mr. Bagby was married to Miss Elizabeth Hughes, a native of England who came to the United States in girlhood. Mr. and Mrs. Bagby have a son, Earl A., who is a graduate of the law department of Michigan State University and is now chief counsel for the California Transit Company at Oakland. Mrs. Bagby is a lady of many commendable qualities of head and heart and is active in local lodge and social life. In May, 1925, Mr. Bagby was elected to the city council, being one of four candidates for two places, and was elected by one hundred twenty-five majority over the next high man. Mr. Bagby is a democrat in his political affiliation and has served as a delegate to many state and county conventions. He has also served on school and election boards many times, always with entire satisfaction. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Woodmen of the World and the Loyal Order of Moose.
History of Tulare County and Kings County, California – Kathleen Edwards Small & J. Larry Smith, Vol. I, Chicago, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1926, Page 42
Transcribed by Jeannie Miyama